Articles by Staff Writer Jake Bittle
Jake Bittle is a staff writer at Grist, covering climate change, energy, and natural disasters. He is the author of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration. He is writing a book about Kern County, California, and is currently a New America fellow.
All Articles
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![Waves from the Gulf of Mexico push up against the shore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore near St. Pete Beach, Florida, on September 26, 2024.]()
![Waves from the Gulf of Mexico push up against the shore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore near St. Pete Beach, Florida, on September 26, 2024.]()
The ‘perfect’ conditions that could make Hurricane Helene ‘unsurvivable’
The storm could rapidly intensify into Category 4 strength as it passes over the steaming-hot Gulf of Mexico, sending a huge surge of water ashore.
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![A flooded house in Lumberton, North Carolina, in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in 2018.]()
![A flooded house in Lumberton, North Carolina, in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in 2018.]()
The US is finally curbing floodplain development, new research shows
“Routine municipal practices” are all it takes, but two problem states are defying the trend.
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The elected officials making political hay from disasters
Hello everyone, and welcome back to State of Emergency. I’m Jake, and today we’re going to be talking about how a politician’s disaster response can influence voter attitudes and election outcomes. In July 2022, a storm dropped more than 14 inches of rain on Kentucky, sending flash floods rolling through the mountainous counties in the […]
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![FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell looks on during a House of Representatives hearing in July of 2023.]()
![FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell looks on during a House of Representatives hearing in July of 2023.]()
Biden’s FEMA director tried to fix the agency. Did she succeed?
In an exclusive interview, Biden FEMA chief Deanne Criswell discusses her attempts to create a “very different” disaster agency.
